Robots

Through the glass, a woman is staring at me. Her skin is as flawless as a peach, her bobcut jet black hair is impeccably straight, un disturbed by her audio set.

I am unsure whether she is about to talk me something as she looks intently. Her eyes are fluttering and yet her gaze is blank and sterile. I feel incredibly uneasy in front of her, wondering whether I am merely uncomfortable or truly scared.

This was my encounter at the Science Museum with Kodomoroid, a life-like robot from Japan that is meant to read news bulletins.

Mechanical baby at the Science Museum

Robots uncovers 500 years of the history not so much of the robotics but of that quest to perfect mechanical assistance. If it sometimes takes you back to childhood memories with incredibly efficient yet toyish looking robots – think Pepper, a robot that fist bumped my amazed 5 year old -it clearly questions the Icarus in each of us. It does so from the outset, opening with no less than a mechanical baby. Is our godly dream of being replaced a progress?